Fat Man Blues

“The literary equivalent of a film noir – fast, tough, tense, and darkly funny” –Los Angeles Times Book Review

Ex-con Angelo Spooner is trying to start a legit business, but he just can’t catch a break. Just as his healing Holy Water, “Angelo’s Elixir” is about to go upscale, the sticky strands of the Big Sleazy’s elaborate web of crime and corruption reach out to ensnare him.

What’s a law-abiding parolee to do?
He can’t get caught with a gun, but maybe that axe in his shed could help him extricate himself. When low level creep Frenchy Dufour’s henchman turns up nearly beheaded, Angelo’s fate rests in the capable hands of laid-back lawyer Tubby Dubonnet.

Tubby’s been trying hard to lay low, too. As those closest to him are targeted by frightening attacks, he suspects his dealings with a clandestine society of Cuban exiles are far from over. Tubby would love to have nothing further to do with “that crazy band of geriatric lunatics,” — but the old Cuban revolutionaries have taught their sons well. Now their grandchildren, heirs to a substantial cache of weapons and money, burn with a dangerous zeal to prove themselves by getting rid of Tubby — and anybody close to him.

Meanwhile … a man’s got to eat! The epicurean counselor does his best thinking when he’s well-fed. Our luck! – as we vicariously sample our way across New Orleans on the hunt for an axe murderer. But man does not live by bread alone. Ignoring his own advice to “keep your head on your shoulders,” Tubby’s lost his to the lovely Peggy O’Flarity. It’s about time Tubby had some steamy sex – and maybe a little happiness? But fortune teller Sister Soulace has her doubts.